WordPress acquires world's only two-letter .me

WordPress is best known as the world’s most popular blogging platform. Now it’s the owner WP.me, the only two-letter .me domain in the world.

The name will be used for a free URL redirection service for bloggers hosting on the WordPress site, similar to Bit.ly on Twitter. WordPress not only makes a great CMS, but also provides free subdomain hosting for blogs.

WordPress was able to obtain the name through a special agreement with the .ME registry. Most domain operators do not allow the sale of names under three letters.

WP.me seems to have been given as a gift, which was probably a good PR move for .ME. WordPress’s use of the domain will likely give the extension some much-needed attention.

Source | The Domains

.Me Auction Approaching- But Are the Names Worth Anything?

The Dot-me registry will be holding an auction May 14-21 online. Today, it issued a press release reminding domainers that the deadline to register is May 11. A good many domains will be up for sale. Some appear to be quite valuable, while others, or should I say nearly all, are flat-out worthless.

The suffix .me is actually the country code for Montenegro, assigned after the country broke off from Serbia in 2006. Since then, Montenegro has decided to market the extension to a world market. General registration for the domain first began on July 16, 2008.

There are some good legitimate uses for .me. If I wanted to start a personal blog and Daniel.com wasn’t available, Daniel.me would be a good alternative. The problem is, the .me registry has designated personal names and other popular words as “premium” domains and is selling them at auction. More than 100 first names will be up for grabs on May 14. Other registries have used similar tactics in the past to profit from desirable domains, but some of the names considered “premium” by Dot-me are far from it.
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